Last fall, my brother Joseph returned to our family business - to serve our clients in our Maintenance Division - after a six year stint in the Service Industry.  I am proud and excited to have Joseph back in the mix.  It’s amazing that he is working with clients that he worked with (when our company was much different than it is now) in his first tour of duty.

I have to admit, the office has a different “energy” to it - Joseph loves to listen to Sports Radio, so it is constantly on during the day in his office - and he LOVES college basketball.  Just last week, as the NCAA Tournament got into full swing, Joseph implemented our “Friends and Family” pool, and had stapled everyone’s picks up in the office!  (Needless to say, that only lasted a few hours until I saw it and kindly asked him to post them in a non-client area….  Ha.)

That said, just a few weeks ago, I wrote this about Joseph’s return to Highland in a letter to our clients:

This season, I’m excited to welcome my brother back into the fold of Highland Outdoor.  Joseph Cupp has returned to our family business, and is managing all of our extra services – including snow and winter services, holiday lighting, exterior landscape and architectural lighting, mulching and horticulture services, turf fertilization, as well as our maintenance division.  If Joseph can assist you in any way possible, you can reach him at the office at 913.782.3700, or via cell at 913.238.0164.  You can also reach him via email at joseph@highland-outdoor.com.

I think the most telling part of Joseph’s journey at Highland the last six months can be found in his first three notes to be posted here on the blog.  I’m actually surprised that he never asked me why they didn’t make it on the website, but those that know me know that I was thinking something “different”…  Check out what he wrote - I love his passion for our company, our clients, and myself…

Blog Entry Number One:
Hello, my name is Joseph Cupp and I am Highland Outdoor’s newest employee.  If my last name sounds familiar, your right.  I am Jason’s brother.  I joined the company on July 27th at Jason’s request in order to help coordinate and manage the maintenance side of the company.  The position was supposed to be a part-time, but, as you guessed, now it’s full time.

I spent the last several years working in the service industry at one of Kansas City’s oldest bars.  To be honest, the job was getting pretty boring.  Now, working for Highland Outdoor, I do something different every day and I love it!  One day I may be driving a dump truck back and forth.  Or, I might be sitting in on a meeting to discuss the construction of a three season room, pool and patio.  I can also be found managing the installation of one of our many landscaping projects.  And the best part of all, I get the opportunity to work and learn from my brother Jason, and the rest of our staff.

I am looking forward to a mild winter and a busy spring and summer.  I am also looking forward to getting to know our clients.  Hopefully I will be involved in your next project!

Happy Holidays!

Blog Entry Number Two:
As I sink into my new job here at Highland Outdoor, I have been given an opportunity to help manage one of the coolest jobs.  My brother Jason recently sold a job to a client in Leawood, KS.  Mitch Benjamin put together a design that is truly one of a kind.  He designed a pool, two patios, a three-season room, with a fireplace and several retaining walls.  Jason and Mitch’s vision is truly amazing.

Even though the project is just beginning, this outdoor living space is going to be something that the client will be able to use for years and years to come.  It is so nice to be involved in a project that builds something so useful.  So far we have stage one and two completed with the installation of the pool.  We completed the demolition of the existing patio last week and we are starting the construction of the various retaining walls.  We are also close to beginning the construction of the three season room.

All of this is very exciting and challenging.  Coordinating our guys with sub-contractors, engineers, vendors and our client is like putting together pieces of a puzzle.  The only difference is that with a puzzle you get a nice picture.  With this project we will be creating an original, sleek, outdoor living space.  I will keep you posted as we move forward.

Blog Entry Number Three:
WOW!  As most of you know, we had the biggest snow storm of the season over last weekend.  Highland Outdoor responded and we tackled snow fall totals of up to four to six inches!  Our crew did a great job and I am very proud of our success.  Just when we thought that it was time to start gearing up for Spring Services we were hit with a changeling snow storm.

Today our crews spent the day getting our trucks ready for the task ahead, spring.  We are preparing to put our fertilization program and maintenance programs into action.  I look forward to hitting the ground running with mowing, fertilization, spring clean-up’s and mulching service.  I am excited about servicing our existing clients and adding several new ones.

Have a great Spring, and remember to give us a call if you are in need of any Spring service this year.

Joseph’s return to Highland meant I needed to call mom up and have her dig up a photo of Joseph and I when we were kids.  The picture above was when I was 3 and Joe was 7.  Pretty hilarious!